Subject: Re: bleeding money out of clispers From: Erik Naggum <firstname.lastname@example.org> Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001 17:24:55 GMT Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp Message-ID: <email@example.com> * Lyn A Headley > Generally speaking, I hold the opposite view, and I can cite you any > number of situations which disprove your claim. He made a claim that can be disproved??? Amazing. > Take unions, for instance. Somebody leads the unions. Somebody orders the members to act a certain way. However, those members who disobey are punished. _That_ is the real source of the "formidable force" of labor unions. Union members do not commit to do something they want only if others agree. They commit to do whatever whoever manages to grab the leadership tells them to do. I have always seen labor unions as the ultimate symbol of weakness, in that if it were _not_ for their numbers, they would be exactly nothing. I happen to disagree with this misanthropic weltanschauung, however. I believe that a man acting alone is a force to be reckoned with. Whoever had the guts to _start_ organizing labor unions proved _that_ point, as it was indeed true back then that psychopathic bosses showed reckless disregard for human life and they _had_ to be stopped in numbers. Had it not been for the mentally ill people who sought power over other people, labor unions would have been unnecessary. Since such people are always a danger in any society that rewards rather than punishes those who seek power, people must be prepared to walk out on any psychopathic manager. That _includes_ members of labor unions when their leaders go nuts. Ideally, this "force of numbers" game would lead groups to dissolve when their goals had been reached. It is when they do not dissolve that they cling together and show a fear of standing alone even in the absence of threats. But all things considered, what the hell have labor unions got to do with your unwillingness to put up the money for whatever CLISP trick you want to finance? Just do it, damnit. Who is going to exert unfair and unjust force over your life if you do it by yourself that would have made this a likely comparison with labor unions? Sorry, I don't get it. #:Erik -- Travel is a meat thing.